Sexism in the silences at Australian Universities: Parental leave in name, but not in practice
Autor/in:
Duffy, Sarah; O’Shea, Michelle; Bowyer, Dorothea; van Esch, Patrick
Quelle: Gend Work Organ (Gender, Work and Organization), (2022)
Inhalt: Unequal distribution of child rearing and domestic responsibilities between parents contributes to gender inequity, a wicked problem in Australia. Inequitable parental leave policies at Australian public Universities place the burden of care squarely on the mother, diminishing or absenting the father. We examine how the gendered nature of the existing policies are constructed in ways that create inequities and discourage their uptake. A post-structural feminist lens provides us with a theoretical vantage point from which this wicked problem can be problematized. We present three recommendations for enabling more equitable outcomes for parents. The first is to eradicate the punitive approach and support flexibility; second, the policies must be parental leave in name, provision and practice; and finally we recommend a minimum parental leave standard for Australian universities nationally. These findings have policy-level significance for redressing parental leave inequity within the Australian university context. The paper concludes with theoretical contributions, practical implications, and suggestions for future research.
„Wenn’s nirgendwo so richtig stimmt“ – Einblicke in qualitative Forschung zu Hochschulkarrieren und Elternschaft unter Corona-Bedingungen
Autor/in:
Haag, Hanna
Quelle: FemPol (Femina Politica – Zeitschrift für feministische Politikwissenschaft), 31 (2022) 2, S 132–136
Inhalt: Wissenschaftskarrieren sind allgemeinhin von einem hohen Selektionsdruck gekennzeichnet (Reuter et al. 2020). In dem vorliegenden Beitrag wird insbesondere die Frage nach der (Un)-Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf mit Blick auf die pandemische Lage fokussiert und aufgezeigt, wie diese selbige verstärkt.
Caring during COVID‐19 : A gendered analysis of Australian university responses to managing remote working and caring responsibilities
Autor/in:
Nash, Meredith; Churchill, Brendan
Quelle: Gender, Work & Organization, 27 (2020) 5, S 833–846
Inhalt: OVID‐19 is dramatically reconfiguring paid work and care. Emerging evidence in the global media suggests that academic women with caring responsibilities are being proportionately impacted. This article fills a key knowledge gap by examining how Australian universities are supporting academics to manage remote work and caring during the COVID‐19 pandemic. We conducted a desktop analysis of public information about remote working and care from 41 Australian universities and compared them to the world’s top 10 ranked universities. Findings suggest that during the pandemic, the Australian higher education sector positions decisions about caring leave and participation in the paid labour force as ‘private’ matters in which employees (mainly women) design their own ‘solutions’ when compared with international institutional counterparts. We argue that COVID‐19 provides another context in which universities have evaded their responsibility to ensure women’s full participation in the labour force.
Academic motherhood during COVID‐19 : Navigating our dual roles as educators and mothers
Autor/in:
Guy, Batsheva; Arthur, Brittany
Quelle: Gender Work Organ (Gender, Work & Organization), 2 (2020) 1, 155 S
Inhalt: During the COVID‐19 crisis, being a working mother has taken on a whole new meaning, as mothers navigate working from home while juggling childcare, as well as coming to terms with their intersecting identities. The current article is a feminist, heartful autoethnographic account, couched in Relational‐Cultural Theory, surrounding our authentic experiences working from home and raising children during the worldwide pandemic. We explore academic motherhood, working from home, mental health, and coping during coronavirus and stay‐at‐home orders through engaged dialogue. We hope that showcasing our vulnerability can lead to change in the expectations we put on mothers in academia, while at the same time connect with readers who may be going through similar challenges.
Quelle: Gender Work Organ (Gender, Work & Organization), 26 (2019) 4, S 448–462
Inhalt: This article examines the rise in precarious academic employment in Ireland as an outcome of the higher education restructuring following OECD (Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development), government initiatives and post‐crisis austerity. Presenting the narratives of academic women at different career stages, we claim that a focus on care sheds new light on the debate on precarity. A more complete understanding of precarity should take account not only of the contractual security but also affective relational security in the lives of employees. The intersectionality of paid work and care work lives was a dominant theme in our interviews among academic women. In a globalized academic market, premised on the care‐free masculinized ideals of competitive performance, 24/7 work and geographical mobility, women who opt out of these norms, suffer labour‐led contractual precarity and are over‐represented in part‐time and fixed‐term positions. Women who comply with these organizational commands need to peripheralize their relational lives and experience care‐led affective precarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Excellent and gender equal? : Academic motherhood and ‘gender blindness' in Norwegian academia
Autor/in:
Thun, Cecilie
Quelle: Gender Work Organ (Gender, Work & Organization), 27 (2019) 2, S 166–180
Inhalt: This article explores Norwegian female academics' experiences with academic motherhood in an organizational perspective. A main finding is that academia as an organization is greedy, uncertain, and has ‘blind spots' that reveal gender bias related to gender and parental status, especially mothers. By analysing the link between gendered organization of work and the legitimatizing of gender inequality, the article reveals ‘gender blindness' in the academic organization concerning gender and parental status. The article concludes that changes in academia — in line with academic capitalism — may indicate that the Norwegian model of work–life balance is under pressure. This article suggests that the organizational conditions for academic motherhood are important factors in order to understand the persistence of gender inequality.
Informality, emotion and gendered career paths: The hidden toll of maternity leave on female academics and researchers
Autor/in:
Maxwell, Nicola; Connolly, Linda; Ní Laoire, Caitríona
Quelle: Gend Work Organ (Gender, Work and Organization), (2018)
Inhalt: While the negative impact of child‐raising and caring on women's career progression in academia is well‐established, less is known about the role of academic women's lived experiences of maternity leave as an institutional practice. This article presents the findings of a qualitative study of the lived experiences of female academics and researchers in an Irish university. The analysis intrinsically links organizational structures and problems with the lived and felt dimensions of work. The findings point to the need for better structural accommodations for maternity leave which address the relationship between caring and career disadvantage within academia. The article adds to existing literature on the intersection of motherhood and academia by unpicking the specific role of maternity leave as both a lived experience and an institutional practice that can reinforce gender inequalities in academia.
Die Vereinbarkeit von Wissenschaft und Familie in Deutschland : Bestandsaufnahme aus Sicht von Hochschulen und Nachwuchsforschenden
Autor/in:
Krempkow, René; Sembritzki, Thomas
Quelle: Beiträge zur Hochschulforschung, 39 (2017) 2, S 102–123
Inhalt: Der Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft und das Deutsche Zentrum für Hochschul- und Wissenschaftsforschung (DZHW) führten im Jahr 2015 Erhebungen zur Personalentwicklung für den wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchs durch, die einen Themenschwerpunkt zur Vereinbarkeit von Wissenschaft und Familie enthielten. Zunehmende Relevanz und wissenschaftspolitische Thematisierung kommen diesem Schwerpunkt aufgrund eines sich verstärkenden Wettbewerbs um die besten Nach - wuchsforschenden – auch mit Unternehmen der Privatwirtschaft – zu. Schwierigkeiten mit der Vereinbarkeit von Wissenschaft und Familie spielen bei Nachwuchsforschen - den eine deutlich stärkere Rolle als Grund für einen angestrebten Wechsel in die Wirtschaft als noch vor einigen Jahren. In der Privatwirtschaft bilden Maßnahmen zur Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf bereits eine der wichtigsten und erfolgreichsten Rekrutierungsstrategien. Mit diesem Beitrag wird erstmals eine bundesweite Bestands - aufnahme zu entsprechenden Maßnahmen und Angeboten aus der Perspektive sowohl von Wissenschaftseinrichtungen als auch von Nachwuchsforschenden vorgelegt. (Autorenreferat)
Schlagwörter:Familie; Hochschule; Nachwuchsforschende; Vereinbarkeit Familie und Beruf